If you’re not familiar with Get Real Presents from their aPORKalypse, Beer Bar Fest, Cask Ale Fest or Belgian Beer Fest events, then you either don’t live near NYC or are sadly missing out!!! Forget anything you know about Beer fests, Get Real events are not like the others. Not only do they have some of the best and tastiest food made by great local Chefs & Restaurants but also some of the most unique, sought after and well made Craft Beer available. There’ no crap on tap at one of their events but you can definitely expect tasty brews from breweries like Founders, Mikkeller, Dogfish Head, St. FeuillienLagunitas, Kuhnhenn, Victory, Wandering Star and many, MANY more. Most of the beers aren’t chosen until days before each event in an attempt to perfectly pair every single dish with a specific Craft Beer.

You’ve never seen anything like it. Get Real Beer Fests are more like a big fun party than some kind of sampling event. Everyone’s having a great time hanging out, trying cool Beers, eating great Food and meeting new friends. The best part? All inclusive pricing. Yup, one price buys you all the Beer & Food you can possibly enjoy in a 3-4 hour session.

These events also come with a bit of education. Beer pairs with Food almost better than Wine and the wealth of knowledge why is written on the walls of the event. Get Real also has The School of Beer. The “S.O.B.” has a “twelve step” program to help you learn everything you ever wanted to know about how beer is made, where it comes from and how you can to enjoy it. As you’re walking around sampling all the awesome Food & Beer, you can get a bit of Beer-ducation by reading the bits of knowledge posted up on the walls.

Full disclosure, I work with them but they were doing this before I was ever allowed to be a part of it. Having attended their Belgian Beer Fest and participating in Beer Bar Fest via my bar Idle Hands, I knew first hand how great the Get Real Presents events are.

Most recently, Get Real Presents hosted the Beer Balls Fest at 404 in NYC. Here’s the official word from the crew:

MEATBALLS!
They’re a favorite comfort food for many of us in the United States, and in New York in particular it’s pretty difficult to walk a two-block radius without finding a restaurant that has them on the menu. Although many people automatically associate meatballs with checkered table cloths, a bottle of red wine, and a big dish of spaghetti, the history of this beloved food is as long and as varied as any other part of culinary history.

No one can say with 100% certainty where the initial meatball recipe came from. Countries all over the world can lay claim to their own traditions, ingredients and monikers. Whether it’s called the “kofta,” the “köttbulle,” the “polpette,” or simply the “meatball,” the varieties and possibilities of what one can do with this collective staple food are endless. In fact, as Americans we have our own claim to fame in this department because the whole concept of “spaghetti and meatballs” isn’t an Italian tradition at all, but an American one. These two dishes were served separately until American diners started frequenting Italian restaurants and wanted meat with their pasta. But they’re not just served with pasta- they can be fried and include onion and mint leaves like in Greece, could be made with anchovies or salted herring like in Germany or served with pickled cucumbers and lingonberry sauce like in Sweden-the possibilities are truly endless. And with all the creativity and flavors you can deliver with meatballs, we at Get Real are reminded of what else…beer!